Sneaky veggies creep into your kid's favorite dish

I am thoroughly convinced that my son is planning to be the poster child for the currently defunct disease of long ago sailors - SCURVY. I don't think he has actually chosen to eat a vegetable in at least two years. Okay, maybe that is an exaggeration - but he really could survive on pizza and cold cereal. So, I have found a way to sneak vegetables into some of his favorite dishes. I'll let you in on my secrets, if you promise not to tell.

I heeded the advice of every professional that offered a solution to the "just choose veggies" theory of child rearing. I bought tons of fresh veggies, washing them thoroughly to remove unwanted pesticides. I peeled carrots, ran my fork down the outer skin of a cucumber to make decorative rounds, dyed the stalks of celery in beet juice and carved my cauliflower into delectable flowerets. His response - a jaw clenching "ugh, ugh." I moved every possible snack item from his reach, filling his eye-level refrigerator shelf with pluckable, healthy veggie bites presented in colorful plastic containers. His lunchbox returned home with every painstakingly prepared vegetable stick placed exactly where I had originally packed it that morning. My sculptured haystack of steamed julienne zucchini was a work of art - that went uneaten. I decided to give up! At least he thinks I did. Instead, I decided to get sneaky.

As a substitute for the time spent on forming haystacks, I turned my knife to dicing. I cut the veggies into small pieces that were indiscernible for what they really were. I added finely diced carrots and bell peppers to his spaghetti sauce. Shredded zucchini hid well in zucchini muffins. And, my ultimate sting was sautéed eggplant smooshed into his meatballs. (After all, if Wolfgang can get away with it - why can't I?) Here are a couple of hidden veggie tricks that I am sure you can pull off.

• Cut, slice, dice or shred the veggies into very small pieces. Not only will they "hide" easily, but small pieces cook more quickly and blend into your recipe with no trouble.
• Allow cooked veggies to cool before adding them to raw ingredients like ground meat for meatloaf or meatballs.
• Sprinkle finely chopped veggies like broccoli and carrots onto fun foods like pizza and quesadilla. Cheese acts as a great "cover up."
• For the child who eats only the broth from the soup, puree the veggies, and then stir them back into the broth.

Check out Jorj's Meatballs with hidden eggplant

Share your favorite veggie tricks with other moms at BlueSuitMom.com. Send us an email and we will post your suggestions.

Jorj Morgan is the Lifestyle Director of BlueSuitMom.com and the author of At Home In The Kitchen, a cookbook due in spring 2001.